Bad Weather

Hi again. Sorry for the long lapse of nothingness...Costa Rica has been getting rain all day and violent, hurricane-like winds for the last four days, so our internet connection has been down. This is the first I've been able to get online for a couple days. Also, this week was our hardest week of classes: I had two 3-5 page papers due written entirely in Spanish about subjects I am generally clueless in English, I had a 5 minute oral presentation in Spanish about a free subject that I wasn't able to research due to lack of internet connection, and I had to read 4, 50-page chapters for two different speakers in my Culture class. Needless to say, I'm bushed. I went to bed early last night--it was glorious.

RAIN:
Seriously, I am going to try and record the rain on my digital camera. It doesn't fall like the rain in Indiana, it floats. It's like there is rain in the air, and you can breathe it in, and it hits your face...it's like the fine mist of one of those water sprizters--not enough to get soaked, but just enough to need to change...

LOVE:
Every single couple I have seen in this country has no concept of discretionary affection. PDA city. Seriously. I mean, it's kind of sweet at first to see couples whispering in each others' ears, or holding hands, but after the first two couples, it gets old fast. And only because I can't look away or I'll see another couple making out or something.

MANNEQUINS:
For those of you who didn't already know, I have this weird dislike of mannequins. It's a long story. However, I have seen more mannequins in storefronts here than I have ever seen in the States. Also, it seems that many of the female mannequins are between changes of clothing. At first, I thought it was just a mistake, to have the mannequins nude on the storefront, but given the previous paragraph about love, it gives me pause. Since I have not seen any male mannequins "between outfits", I'm a little suspicious...

ICE CREAM:
Okay. I admit it. My name is Elise Arvidson, and I have a problem. I'm addicted to ice cream. It's just so delicious!! The ticos put fruit in their ice cream--real fruit, not canned--and they douse it in sweetened condensed milk. It's so good.

Okay. I have a deeper topic that I'm going to write next.